Not surprised at all with the selection of a Punter. Thought it would be Wing from LSU. Clearly a need and I wasn't a fan of taking Walsh last year and he helped out a lot so if Locke can come in and help control Ball Position and pinning the other teams offense deep in their own end that would be great.

STRENGTHS As tenacious a blocker as there is in this draft class. Strong punch in pass pro, stuns tackles to knock them backwards and works to move the line, not just hold his ground. Quick to recognize blitzes. Re-directs blitzers out of the hole, keeps his feet moving to take them away from the play. Shows awareness in assisting teammates in pass protection. Gets after his run target, attacks with a venom. Hustles to help his tackle prevent inside rushes, at times just attacking the end without any need to. Stones twists inside. Good mobility to pull, gets around the line quickly and has the flexibility to adjust to inside defenders once through the hole. Fits on his second-level block well and engulfs the defender.

WEAKNESSES Average height and size for an NFL offensive lineman. Stronger defenders can push him back with a power rush, and can use their superior strength to rip off blocks or control his upper body. Aggressiveness can backfire when overextending his punch, as he lacks great length to re-direct once he loses contact.

How do you all feel about our DB's going into the year? Even without Winfield it has to be better than last year surely.

I'm pretty happy with where we'll be, but there are definite question marks there. Cook has yet to play more in a season than the 10 games he played in last season. Robinson showed flashes last year, but was inconsistent, which can definitely be expected from a rookie, but he needs to take a step forward. Rhodes is a rookie, so there will be growing pains and a learning curve involved. Lacey will provide depth, but is no more than a dime, maybe nickel corner. Same goes for Jefferson. Sherels was abused when he saw the field on defense last year, so hopefully with better depth he won't see the field. Burton has shown next to nothing, and will be entering his third year, so he needs to take a step forward or might as well be cut.

Smith should continue to progress from a great rookie year. Between Sanford and Raymond, the other spot should be solid, and perhaps Blanton will even take a step forward and compete to start next to Smith.

The biggest thing, like Vikings4Ever mentioned, will be a strong and consistent pass rush to help them out. With the guys that are there and the guys we added(Floyd and Jackson) improving depth and upgrading over some of the guys that were there, that shouldn't be a problem, but if it is, then that will cause some pretty big problems for the secondary.

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Originally Posted by A Perfect Score

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The Minnesota Vikings were widely expected to make a middle linebacker one of their high draft picks to address perhaps the largest void on an otherwise-promising roster.

Their expected starter at this critical position, though, was on the team all along. Erin Henderson, who played the weak side spot last season, has been given the first opportunity to take over. The 26-year-old said Wednesday he was told by the coaches a few months ago to prepare accordingly. So he's put on about 10 pounds to his 6-foot-3 frame to near 250.

I actually really like that. That explains the Gerald Hodges pick, I think he's an ideal weak side LB, maybe a bit undersized but he makes up for it with his coverage skills as a converted safety. If the coaching staff has faith in Henderson, I can't really argue. Those extra 10 lbs should help him on the inside. Henderson is going to be a HUGE upgrade over Brinkley in coverage as well.

This roster is really shaping up. The only really glaring needs we have right now on defense are at nose tackle and a safety opposite Smith.

Rodney Smith is an intriguing prospect. Just under 6-5 and ran a 4.51 at the combine. He already has a connection with Ponder playing with him at Florida State.

Yea he actually does look pretty impressive. We have had a terrible track record with rookie FAs. When's the last time we've had a UDFA pan out? I feel like we're due for one to make an impact pretty soon. Hopefully this is the guy.

Yea he actually does look pretty impressive. We have had a terrible track record with rookie FAs. When's the last time we've had a UDFA pan out? I feel like we're due for one to make an impact pretty soon. Hopefully this is the guy.

Before Christian Ponder suffered a bad contusion to his throwing arm that required an emergency trip to the hospital after the season, left tackle Matt Kalil came down with an illness that forced him to miss practices leading up to the Vikings Week 16 victory over the Houston Texans.

Kalil wasn’t very forthcoming over just what the illness was at the time but, according to Tom Pelissero of 1500ESPN.com in the Twin Cities, it was a battle with pneumonia that hit Kalil late in the season. The illness caused Kalil to drop nearly 20 pounds in weight over the final weeks of the season.

Kalil played most of the season at 310 pounds but was down between 290 and 295 pounds while battling the sickness.”I couldn’t eat anything for about three days,” Kalil said. “So, that wasn’t really good.”His weight continued to drop down to 280 after the season come to a close before Kalil resumed working out. He’s back up over 300 pounds and sets his sights get up to 315 pounds for the start of the season.

Kluwe was a UDFA, but signed originally with the Seahawks. So I'm not sure that counts. John Randle was a UDFA, I'd say that one worked out pretty well.

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